New Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appointed Senator Richard Colbeck to the Agriculture and Water Resources portfolio to assist Minister Littleproud. Senator Colbeck will take responsibility for fishing and aquaculture. Senator Anne Ruston is now the Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific in the Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism and Investment Portfolio. Senator Colbeck has a very good knowledge of fishing and aquaculture from his previous time as the assistant minister. It is expected [to be confirmed] that Senator Colbeck will be responsible for the same key areas Senator Ruston was, namely:

The revised Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy and Guidelines

The revised Commonwealth Bycatch Policy and Guidelines

Quantifying the recreational catch of Southern Bluefin Tuna – IMAS has won the tender to undertake the survey

Some stakeholders will be aware of recent changes to the FRDC management of the various Advisory Groups – Research Advisory Committees, Industry Partnership Agreements & Subprograms. This change has been brought about by a review of the FRDC structure. This has resulted in changes to who looks after each RAC or IPA.

The RAC, IPA and Subprogram webpages have also been updated with the new contact for FRDC staff members. The pages also have new “relevant project listing” at the bottom of each page. This lists all projects related to the relative area.

The FRDC’s 2018-19 Annual Operating Plan has been submitted to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resource and the Assistant Minister. The FRDC AOP sets out the key priorities for the coming year, as well the performance targets. The AOP can be found on the FRDC website at FRDC AOP 2018-19.

Investments in 2018–19 will continue to focus on the three national priorities, subprogram and stakeholder/jurisdictional RD & E plans see: Partners. In addition, the FRDC looks across its portfolio and identifies areas that require adjustment [to maintain a balanced portfolio] or to specifically respond to areas for investment or focus.

This process starts in August, when the FRDC Board reviews the business environment and strategic direction with input from its representative organisations. The following focus areas have been identified as priorities for FRDC in 2018-19.

The FRDC will explore, through the Fish-X and Fish 2.0 projects new approaches to identify funders, develop and respond to issues or business opportunities. The two projects will deliver alternate paths for industry development, as well increasing the speed of innovation and adoption by stakeholders. These projects also aim to broaden the FRDC investor base, bringing in new funding partners.

The National Carp Control research program will continue to be delivered to inform the development of the National Carp Control Plan for the Australian Government to consider.

Following changes to the Primary Industry Research and Development Act the FRDC will commence seafood marketing activities, where industry request it – either via voluntary funding or a statutory marketing levy(s).

On 16 August 2018 the FRDC got the news it has been waiting on for a long time. FRDC can now undertake marketing activities with voluntary funds - no levies required.

The changes come about as a result of the Primary Industries Research and Development Amendment Bill 2017 being passed by both houses of parliament.

Up to this point any marketing activities the fishing and aquaculture businesses wanted FRDC to run collectively required them to go through the lengthy process of establishing a mandatory marketing levy. This burden is now gone and allows for more flexible and custom programs to be developed.

The change opens the doors for FRDC to partner with and deliver any marketing activities on behalf of Australia's seafood industry. For example, if the seafood industry want to run a trade event (either here or overseas) to promote Australian seafood. FRDC and industry partners could identify an event of interest (say a trade show), pay a fee and be part of the event. Any and all interested companies could sign up. This is very similar approach used by Wine Australia for international trade shows – each company pays a fee to attend and be part of the show.

What next?

The FRDC is keen to start discussions with any industry partners looking to undertake or be part of marketing activities. It is important to note, that the FRDC can only undertake marketing where industry request and provide funding for the activity. In these cases the FRDC will work with them to develop plans and processes [approvals/sign offs] to undertake requested activities.

Under its four year Funding Agreement with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) the FRDC is required to undertake an independent review of its performance prior to renegotiating the next Funding Agreement. FRDC board agreed to the terms of reference with DAWR in Sep 2017. Foresthill Consulting (led by Scott Williams) was selected to undertake the review in November 2017, and the Review is well under way. Foresthill Consulting has undertaken a number of face-to-face interviews, but is also seeking FRDC stakeholder feedback via a website it has set up at www.frdcreview.org. If you would like to provide stakeholder feedback on the FRDC, you can do so anonymously on the website.

The FRDC have sponsored FISH 2.0 Program. The Fish 2.0 competition connects seafood businesses and investors in order to grow the sustainable seafood sector. Fish 2.0 provides businesses with opportunities to gain visibility and find strategic partners. The focus for the Australian Track and the areas the program are looking for are:

Aquaculture production and technologies, including new fish feeds and disease control

Fish 2.0 applicants will participate in a workshop and investor event in Melbourne on October 23-24. The workshop is open to all Australia seafood ventures who apply. Fish 2.0 alumni are also welcome to apply to attend. The application is simple and can be completed online at www.fish20.org/australia

As of July 2018, the Status of Australian Fish Stock Reports (SAFS) are being used as evidence based science to inform the United Nations Sustainability Goal Number 14 ‘Life Below Water’ (indicator 14.4.1 ‘Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels’). This broad goal seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

On 10 August 2018 the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources announced that round four of the Rural R&D for Profit Program is open for applications. The Minister’s media release can be found here.

Program documentation, including guidelines and the online application form, can be found at GrantConnect (https://www.grants.gov.au/?event=public.GO.list&orderBy=Close+Date+%26+Time+-+Ascending&GOID=&keyword=agriculture) Applications close on 5 November 2018.

Applications through the online form must include an ‘organisation ID’ number and all RDCs already have this ID number.

FRDC have taken the lead in developing a nationally integrated effort to improve the safety, health and welfare of Australia’s seafood industry. A key driver was knowledge that commercial fishing safety performance has not improved in last 15 years and is now considered one of the most dangerous occupations (even though this statement has not been statistically evaluated).

There have been significant resources (financial and physical) allocated to workplace health and safety (including mental health, training and systems for data collection) over the last 15 years in the commercial fishing industry. However the majority have been “stand alone" and there has been limited extension for the wider industry to adopt. In addition, there have been limited resources within industry to continue the developmental work required.

The FRDC Seafood Industry Safety & Welfare National Strategy broadly focuses on the integration of previous and new investments made in the area of workplace health and safety and mental health and culture.

Current FRDC investments in the area of workplace health and safety and mental health are:

FRDC and its partners in this strategy are in the process of having all these initiatives overseen by one steering committee to ensure best possible collaboration, avoid duplication, and importantly maximise the focus on the outcome of significant improvements in safety. Of a number of identified priority areas under the Seafood Industry Safety & Welfare National Strategy – FRDC acknowledge that there is a need to develop a communication plan.

At the end of September, the FRDC’s Human Research Dimensions Research Subprogram will host the “Mental Health, Wellbeing and Safety in the Seafood Sector: Making a difference” workshop. This workshop aims to guide future FRDC investment in RD&E to improve levels of mental health, wellbeing and safe work behaviours and culture across Australian fisheries and aquaculture. The workshop will likely have updates from current relevant FRDC projects, industry organisations and their initiatives/partnerships, perspectives from government agencies and regulators, as well as leaders in related agri-business sectors on equivalent programs and interventions.

The FRDC’s Annual Stakeholder Planning Workshop will be held August 29th & 30th in Adelaide, and provided a forum for representatives of each Research Advisory Committees (RACs), Industry Partnership Agreements (IPAs) and Subprograms and external stakeholders to present their research priorities. The primary objective of the Stakeholder Planning Workshop was to establish collaborative opportunities for co-investment in RD&E that will have multi- jurisdictional and, or national benefit.

The newly established (Commercial) Inshore Fishery Subprogram is holding its second meeting in late-September to develop a terms of reference and finalise the Governance Committee. At this meeting, it is expected that a shortlist of activities – initially focusing on improving social license for these commercial operators – will be discussed which could become shared pilot projects.

To date, the Subprogram held an initial meeting in mid-2018, with the Executive Officers from the State & Territory based wild catch industry councils in attendance. It was agreed that the issue of resource allocation and access would not be addressed by the Subprogram – but rather there would be a focus be on taking advantage of sharing existing knowledge and opportunities, developing new opportunities and trial initiatives such as new technology. Meeting participants outlined activities relevant to inshore fisheries – current and in planning – and identified commonality in RD&E priorities.